The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note

This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1998 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note

Arranged in 6 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: The Baltic Nations: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

Series 3: Pahiyas: A Philippine Harvest

Series 4: The Río Grande/Río Bravo Basin

Series 5: Special Events

Series 6: Wisconsin

Historical note

Historical note

The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.

The 1998 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.

Introduction

Introduction

On January 25, 1998, the Smithsonian Board of Regents voted to change the name of the Festival of American Folklife to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Folklife and Folkways Archives and Collection of the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies were also renamed to become the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

In presenting community cultural life, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival always engages those communities. The 1998 Festival was a good case in point. All of the nearly 75 researchers who documented, analyzed, and recommended traditions and people for the Festival came from the represented communities. Festival curators and senior staff met with researchers, shared experiences from previous Festivals, challenged assumptions, listened, learned, argued, and negotiated the character of the programs. Although not an easy way to craft a cultural representation, this approach nevertheless allowed for an honest, intellectual engagement, with mutual respect and discovery as ther result.

The 1998 Festival hosted programs on Wisconsin, the Río Grande/Río Bravo Basin, the Philippines, and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Wisconsin celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1998, and sought through the Festival to demonstrate to the nation the vitality of its people and their traditions. The Río Grande/Río Bravo region was redefined 150 years ago with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which established a new boundary between Mexico and the United States. The river has a variety of meanings for local communities that were explored on the National Mall. The Philippines first tasted independence 100 years ago, and marked its centennial with activities that gave voice to Filipino peoples, both in the island nation and in the United States. The Baltic nations each demonstrated the richness of their cultural life, and its importance in sustaining the struggle to regain their freedom and independence less than a decade before. Special events celebrated the Festival's founder, Ralph Rinzler, and the 50th anniversary of Folkways Records.

The Festival's million visitors could dance to polkas from Milwaukee, learn borderlands ballads, participate in a Philippine pageant, and marvel at the amber work, flax weaving, and choral songs of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The unexpected also met their eye - a Tibetan sand mandala maker from Wisconsin, a Filipino artisan who fashions musical gongs from bullet casings, a New Mexican pueblo potter who incorporates modern flood stories into her craft, and a Baltic-style St. John's Day ceremony.

The 1998 Festival took place during two five-day weeks (June 24-28 and July 1-5) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 9th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan). It featured four programs, with special events that included the Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert.

The 1998 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; essays provided background on the Festival and on each of the programs.

The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife Programs & Cultural Studies.

Access by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note

The Rinzler Archives is continually engaged in digitization of archival materials to facilitate preservation and ready access by users. However, given the diversity of legacy formats of the originals, some older materials may not be available. Notably, certain older audio recordings cannot be played because of deterioration of the tape stock, and the Archives has no playback equipment for EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) or multi-track audio recordings. Where listening or viewing copies are available, this is generally indicated for each item. Users are encouraged to contact Archives staff to verify that the materials of interest to them are already accessible, or to determine if they can be digitized as needed.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival records

Related Archival Materials note

Related Archival Materials note

Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.